


Scavenging Hope

by writergenie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo on the Millennium Falcon, Bendemption, Canon divergence - Star Wars : The Last Jedi, F/M, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey decides to be a Scavenger, What if?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22577089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writergenie/pseuds/writergenie
Summary: Rey has been a scavenger her whole life. Learning the ways of the Jedi didn't change that...After the fight against the Praetorian guards in the Throne room, Rey wakes first. And she decides to scavenge herself some hope.
Relationships: Chewbacca & Ben Solo, Chewbacca & Han Solo, Chewbacca & Kylo Ren, Chewbacca & Leia Organa, Chewbacca & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 17
Kudos: 48





	1. A decision made

Heat.

Smoke… the crackling sounds of a well-fed fire.

Burnt flesh.

Rey’s senses returned all at once, almost overwhelming her with everything she could see, hear, smell and feel.

Scrambling off the black floor that was warming up in the fire, Rey quickly looked around, taking in everything, trying to shake off the confusion of waking up on the floor in an unfamiliar location. The ringing in her ears and tears in her eyes proved debilitating to her efforts until her gaze zeroed in on the gruesome scene before her… Supreme Leader Snoke’s body, neatly divided in two… lying on the pedestal that held his throne.

And her memory of the previous few hours rushed back all at once.

* * *

Flashes… Chewie ejecting an escape pod with her inside, going up to the throne room in the elevator, Snoke torturing her using Force powers and… Ben.

Ben, who was somehow able to get past Snoke’s control, hiding his plans and thoughts from his master and use his grandfather’s lightsaber… the one which had previously rejected his claim and flown into her hands, to cleave the old abuser’s body into two halves that even now lay across the massive room from her.

Ben… who had once been her nightmare, her enemy - the dark specter Kylo Ren. The one who was hated more by the Resistance than even the erstwhile Supreme Leader. The man who she could now never think of as anyone but Ben… Ben Solo. No matter what he chose to do with the rest of his existence, he would always remain Ben Solo to her.

Ben, the one who she had shared her deepest fears with, the one who had held her hand and assured her, that she wasn’t alone in this universe. The only who understood who she was… what she was. Even during his emotion-filled speech in the throne room after they’d finished fighting the praetorian guards, even while he’d been pleading with her to stay and rule with him, yelling at her to let go of her past, and telling her that she was a nobody who had no place in the story, he’d understood her better than anyone else in the universe.

The bond, which had been sealed from both sides, had flung wide open the second the blue lightsaber flew into Rey’s waiting hand after having parted Snoke’s body neatly into two. The bond had flown between them in the Force in a wave of comfort and rightness, bringing with it focus and stability, tempering all the adrenaline between them.

The fight with the elite Praetorian Guards was over almost embarrassingly quickly due to the bond synchronizing their actions and making them fight as one being. And the bond was why Rey could clearly feel the emotional upheaval Ben was going through when he spotted the lifeless form of his erstwhile Master. The Master he had killed… after years of being controlled and trained into a weapon, Ben could hardly believe that it was over.

The disbelief at having really done it, the relief… at having the voice in his head quieten for the first time since he could remember, the chance to finally have his thoughts and memories to himself, had overwhelmed him before a stray thought had interrupted. He had killed the Supreme Leader… his Master. That meant for the first time in his life since discovering that he was a force user, he had no master… and by the Sith code, he was the Master now… and consequently the Supreme Leader.

Rey could almost feel his thoughts and emotions warping as Be- Kylo considered the fact that he had now ascended to the position of Supreme Leader. She’d spoken without being aware of it

“No…”

And that was when he turned to her.

While his words had been harsh, rough and unwieldy on the surface, Kylo’s emotional state and his shaky control on it was clear to her through their bond… possibly clearer than the words coming from his mouth.

The sheer overwhelming amount of panic he was feeling at the notion of losing her almost smothered Rey in its intensity. Even as Rey tried to process what was happening and how she was feeling about everything, filing that little nugget of information away about Ben never having had his mind to himself, she knew she also needed to focus on the bigger picture here. 

Outside the throne room, a battle was being fought… a battle that could potentially end the war with the might of the First Order wiping out the Resistance. She needed to make sure that her friends survived to fight another day if necessary. And here… here was where she’d erred.

While she knew she couldn’t leave her friends behind to go with Kylo and his grandiose plans of ruling the galaxy, Rey’d gone into this whole thing with the expectation that Ben would be happy to leave his life in the First Order behind and join the Resistance with her… for her.

It hadn’t even occurred to her till then that Kylo Ren wouldn’t want to leave his position in the dark side and come to the light. That he couldn’t. That maybe him leaving the First Order behind and joining the Resistance wasn’t as simple as she was making it out to be in her mind. That maybe the people of the Resistance, the people she considered friends wouldn’t give him the same consideration she could because there was no way they could know him the way she did… because they’d never known the Ben Solo who lived inside Kylo Ren. And that maybe the people of the First Order wouldn’t let him just leave without hunting him down for it.

But there was no way she could let the First Order decimate the Resistance. Not today, not ever. With a dawning sense of defeat and sadness, Rey knew what she had to do.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she drank in his features for what could be the last time… his outstretched hand, his pleading expression that still remained even after she’d made it quite clear she wouldn’t be able to join him like he was asking her to… the incongruous boyishness that had settled over his features in the wake of having gained his mental freedom from his erstwhile master… the open warmth and affection in his eyes as they seemed to catalog her features in return.

Slowly but surely, Rey’s hand moved upwards and heart hurting, she summoned the Skywalker lightsaber.

For a split second, she’d caught him by surprise but B-Kylo’s eyes narrowed and hardened, his hand moving up to counter her force pull with his own. The lightsaber hung in between them for a long moment, the unwilling target of their tug of war before there was a huge flash of light and a burst of energy, throwing both Force users away and knocking them out.


	2. The little prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking first and finding Kylo still unconscious, Rey makes an impulsive decision. How will things pan out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversation marked in italics is our transliteration of Shyriiwook

_Slowly but surely, Rey’s hand moved upwards and heart hurting, she summoned the Skywalker lightsaber._

_For a split second, she’d caught him by surprise but B-Kylo’s eyes narrowed and hardened, his hand moving up to counter her force pull with his own. The lightsaber hung in between them for a long moment, the unwilling target of their tug of war before there was a huge flash of light and a burst of energy, throwing both Force users away and knocking them out._

* * *

Now, she’d woken first, the throne room still aflame, Snoke’s body still lying near the throne in two halves and… the Skywalker saber lying near her in two halves too.

Numb from trying to process everything, Rey slowly made her way to the two pieces of the lightsaber. Finding no energy in herself to even cry over the possibly irreparable damage to the Jedi weapon, she listlessly tucked the two pieces into her belt… and spied another lightsaber, this time whole, lying next to her feet.

The memory of having wielded this weapon flashed in her mind - its hilt warm in her hands, the unstable red blade sparking in her ear as if speaking to her. Rey had never felt comfortable using someone else’s weapon, even the Skywalker lightsaber felt slightly foreign in her hands… but this one, this one had felt oddly comforting in her grip. 

The sight of his lightsaber brought its owner to the forefront of her mind and picking it up, Rey scanned the room hurriedly. Just a few feet away, lay his familiar black-clad form. Kylo… Ben, had yet to wake up… and now, Rey was faced with a major dilemma.

The battle raging outside the massive viewport meant that while she might not be discovered here soon, it also meant that she had very little time to help the Resistance in any way. And in no good conscience could she leave an unconscious, perhaps injured Ben alone in the throne room to be discovered by Hux or someone else equally vile.

She knew that while Kylo Ren might’ve been Snoke’s prized apprentice and the First Order’s prime enforcer, there was no love lost between the two top ranking officers of the organization… if Hux or someone loyal to him found Kylo, they wouldn’t hesitate to put a number of blaster bolts through his brain before jettisoning him off the ship into the frigidness of outer space.

Also… some part of Rey, the scavenger inside her, had decided that this broken man was hers. She couldn’t fix him like she’d fixed so many droids or datapads or X-Wings… that would be Ben’s job to figure out what he wanted to be… who he wanted to be. But she could help him, if he wanted her help. She wanted him to want her help… and she wanted to give herself the opportunity to give it to him.

Rey’s gaze wandered the large room as she bit her lip, her mind whizzing with thoughts… and her eyes snagged on to the tell-tale dimensions of an escape pod access way, along the farthest wall.

With a quick nod, the young Jedi seemed to make up her mind and clipping Kylo’s lightsaber to another loop on her belt, Rey turned and with a grunt of effort, raised her hand. Turning and picking her way through the debris to the escape pod, Rey made sure her hand was raised and directed steadily behind her, guiding the floating body of the still unconscious Master of the Knights of Ren.

* * *

Within a standard minute, the Jedi and her unaware cargo were safely ensconced inside the small but luxuriously appointed escape pod. As Rey piloted the tiny craft out and under the shadow of the massive star destroyer that was still breaking apart from some major impact, she turned to make sure that Kylo’s massive body squeezed into the back was still there, feeling a pang of guilt at the way she’d had to scrunch his form to fit the small dimensions of the pod.

Opening a private comm channel, Rey hailed the Millennium Falcon

**“Sunshine to Falcon… requesting assist”**

A soft trill of Shyriiwook came back as acknowledgement and Rey sat back till she could see the Falcon swing into her view a few seconds later. Apparently, Rey’s warning to the Wookie to stay well away from the star destroyer had been disregarded and for the life of her, the Jedi couldn’t find it in herself to be unhappy about it.

With the limited piloting capabilities that the pod had, Rey was able to align the tiny craft in such a way that Chewie could reel them in from the Falcon. Once safely inside the ship, Rey faced a whole new dilemma.

She’d brought back Kylo Ren with her… into the Millennium Falcon. Which was his father’s ship. Where his father’s co-pilot was. The co-pilot who’d been there when Ben was born, the one who’d probably been there when he was shipped off to Luke’s academy, the one who’d definitely been there when Kylo had killed Han. Kylo had a generous scar from the bowcaster on his side to prove it. And she’d brought him to the Falcon without really thinking it through.

Rey had no more time to think about anything before Chewbacca’s tall form was peering down at her from outside the pod. A large hairy arm pried open the access door from the outside and reached in to help her out when the Wookie’s form suddenly became stock still.

_‘Sunshine… is that?’_

“I’m sorry Chewie… I had no other choice. He was unconscious and I couldn’t leave him there to die. I know, I should’ve at least let you know… I’m sorry”

Rey kept her head bowed in shame and discomfort… she couldn’t find it in herself to meet the Wookie’s eyes

_‘Little one…’_ he trilled softly... a warm, melancholic note in his voice.

Rey looked up, thinking he was addressing her but was astonished to find the Wookie looking at Ben’s unconscious form.

Slowly, with infinite patience and care, the large Wookie moved the young man’s body from its curled up position in the escape pod and lay him down on the long couch by the Dejarik table. With a careful swipe, he moved locks of inky black hair from Ben’s forehead before looking back up at her, the Wookie’s eyes strangely glowing

_‘You’re hurt Sunshine. Let’s get that looked after.’_

“Oh… I’m fine. I just… I don’t think he’s hurt too much either”

_‘The little prince will be fine. He’s just unconscious. What happened?’_

“He did it Chewie” she choked out, her emotions suddenly catching up with her

“He did it… he killed Snoke. I thought if I went to him, he would turn to the light but Luke… Luke warned me that things would not go the way I wanted them to. He… he was right. B-Ben took me to Snoke and that vile t-thing tortured me and swore to eradicate the Jedi. He told Ben to kill me and fulfill his destiny but Ben… he somehow managed to keep his thoughts secret from Snoke and killed him instead. We f-fought his guards together… and it was like we were one person in two bodies… the force was singing!”

Rey fought to control herself as her hands, body and even her voice shook… a belated reaction to all the adrenaline she’d experienced.

“But… But once everything was done, I wanted B-Ben to help the Resistance, I thought he would leave it all behind and come with me. But he… he didn’t. He wanted me to go with him. He wanted to become the new Supreme Leader, to rule the galaxy and he wanted me to rule with him.”

The Wookie was silent for a minute

_‘And what did you say?’_

“I told him I couldn’t Chewie! I couldn’t let my friends die. I won’t go to the Dark side… I won’t let evil win. I will never side with the First Order. How could you think I said anything else?”

_‘But is that what he asked?’_

Chewie was already walking away to the controls when he asked, leaving Rey to contemplate his words. Going over her memory of Ben’s words to her in the throne room, Rey had to wonder… what had Ben really wanted? Did he really think she would leave the Resistance, leave her friends, leave his Mother to be destroyed by the First Order and happily rule the ruins of the galaxy with him? Was that what he’d asked of her or had she been hasty in drawing conclusions?

Looking over to the man who’d become so very important to her in a short period of time, Rey couldn’t help but think… what would’ve happened if she’d taken his hand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the chapter till the end.
> 
> xo
> 
> Genie  
> Find me on Tumblr @writergenie


	3. Hope is like the son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your lovely comments so far!
> 
> This story is taking on a life of its own... looks like it will be much longer than I originally thought. Which is good... right?
> 
> xo
> 
> Genie

_Looking over to the man who’d become so very important to her in a short period of time, Rey couldn’t help but think… what would’ve happened if she’d taken his hand?_

* * *

But there was no time to contemplate this any further as Chewie growled out that they’d received a signal from the Resistance and Rey rushed out to the controls to hear the message. No further thought was spared to the still unconscious Ben Solo as the Millennium Falcon soared through the atmosphere of Crait, speeding its way towards what was left of the Resistance. There was no time to spare if they had to get everyone out before the First Order laser cannon decimated everything in its path including the Resistance.

Just before touchdown however, Rey spared a thought to just what was going to happen once every remaining member of the Resistance was on board and they saw the unconscious body of their arch enemy, Kylo Ren there. Poe himself would do some serious damage… let alone the rest of them. Breath hitching at the idea, Rey turned to Chewie but the Wookie was already ahead of her

_‘Land the Falcon in a safe place… I’ll hide the little prince’_

By the time Rey had landed the ship and cleared the way for her friends by moving the boulders that blocked their passage, Chewbacca had successfully stashed Ben in one of the smaller cabins on the ship and shorted out the door so that no one accidentally went in and saw the erstwhile Supreme Leader there.

Seeing her friends safe and getting hugged by Finn was like a balm to Rey’s soul. Exhausted as she had been after leaving the Supremacy, Rey had found a renewed sense of hope for them all. Even as the rest of the Resistance clambered onto the Falcon, Rey sensed Leia bringing up the rear of the group and turned to greet the General.

Leia, who’d been trying to swallow back emotions kindled by the sight of the Millennium Falcon, stopped dead the moment she stepped foot onto the ramp. Her breath hitched and Leia turned to Rey, her eyes bright with unshed tears and hope.

“He is…”

Her own eyes tearing up in response, Rey could do nothing more than nod.

“He came with you?”

Leia hushed whisper held so much hope that Rey almost couldn’t tell her the truth and see that hope fading from the older woman’s eyes.

“I think it would be better if I explained everything to you from the beginning. He is here… but not… not exactly by his own volition”

Eyes that were so much like her son’s peered up into Rey’s, assessing what she was really trying to convey before Leia nodded and the two women walked up the ramp hand in hand. Rey wasted no time in closing the ramp and found Chewie in his usual co-pilot seat with a clearly excited Poe Dameron prepping the craft for takeoff. Leaving them to it, the Jedi made her way through the Falcon, making sure everyone of her friends was properly situated, and checking on people who needed medical attention. Finn was busy making sure Rose, a mechanic friend of his who’d saved his life and was now unconscious, was taken good care of.

After making sure no one was going to need her or look for her in the next few hours, Rey quietly made her way to Leia and the two women retreated to a nondescript access door which Rey opened with a Force pull and closed quickly behind them once they were inside.

Turning, Rey saw Leia frozen, tears running down her cheeks as she looked upon her son… after almost two decades. As that thought filtered into Rey’s mind, she couldn’t help but see the situation in a different light. Rey had always blamed Kylo for squandering his family when he had one… but now, seeing the situation from the other side, from his side, Rey realized that maybe he hadn’t been the only one to blame.

Rey didn’t know how she knew it, but she knew for certain that after sending her son off to Luke’s academy at ten years old, Leia Organa-Solo was just now seeing him again. Tamping down what she wasn’t sure were just her own emotions, Rey moved aside, trying to give the mother and son some privacy inside the tiny room.

Even so, the young Jedi couldn’t help but feel as if she was intruding on a very private moment as Leia’s shaking hand stroked her son’s forehead, running softly, with wonder, over his features which she’d never seen in their adult form.

“Oh my poor boy… I’m so sorry!”

Leia’s voice shook with sadness as she continued to stroke Ben’s face and hair. Rey had to turn around to make sure her own sobs didn’t disturb the parent and child. As a result, she didn’t see the single diamond tear that escaped Ben’s eyes or hear the whispered ‘Mama’

Rey only heard Leia’s sharp gasp in response and without a thought, she stepped forward. Kylo was still out of it but Leia was now stooped over the young man’s torso, her head rested on his chest, her arms around him while she sobbed openly. The sight of the strong and respected Resistance General looking so small, sad and old next to her giant of a son was as incongruous as seeing the mother and son in the same place.

Rey had never expected to see Kylo Ren reunite with his mother and now, even though it was probably only because he was unconscious and she’d made that decision for him, Rey couldn’t help but feel as if things might be better after all. When Ky-Ben woke up, they would definitely have a kriffload of banthashit to manage, but if they somehow did, the war could potentially, maybe, finally end.

And maybe having both the woman who gave birth to him and the woman he was unmistakably bound with, both who cared for him deeply in their own ways, would be the nudge that would set Ben Solo moving in the right direction. Maybe that direction was not towards the light exactly… Rey thought that could be where she’d gone wrong before, thinking in absolutes.

Afraid of the darkness that had been inside her since before she’d understood what the Force was, Rey’d tried to run away from it, from Kylo and tried to separate Kylo and Ben inside her mind as two different people. She’d tried to accept Ben Solo while rejecting Kylo Ren without stopping to think that it was something fundamentally impossible… Kylo and Ben were both parts of the same man. The man she’d reluctantly but definitely started to care very deeply about. The man she found herself happy to be connected with… the man who she knew understood and accepted all of her, even the parts of her that had rejected him.

She might not have taken his hand earlier in the Supremacy but Rey knew that she would try as best as she could, to resolve any misunderstandings that stood between them and see if they could, given a chance, be something more than enemies on different sides of a war forced together by a bond in the Force.

Maybe, together, they could find a sort of balance… something that could bring peace to the war-torn galaxy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading till the end of the chapter.
> 
> This is going to be a short one... one, possibly two more chapters and we'll be done. I think.
> 
> xo
> 
> Genie
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @writergenie and my Ben Solo stan sideblog @dyadofdumbdumbs


End file.
